Big Salad

Jeff and I have been making salads ever since we got home. I thought we would eat a lot of vegetables in Hilo, but we ended up eating fruit mostly, so we've been on a "big salad" binge. Elaine would be proud.

This one has romaine, red bell peppers, cucumber, dried cranberries, fresh corn off the cob, artichokes, Asiago cheese, and tomatoes.

This one has spinach, shredded carrots, roast chicken, plum tomatoes, and red bell peppers.

I make my own dressing using strawberry balsamic vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt and pepper.

What are your favorite salad toppings?

Back in the Swing of Things

We're back in the city with our kitty and Pride week has ended in SF. On Saturday we had an event at our store to celebrate Pink Saturday in the Castro.

We had refreshments and a DJ. The cookies were provided by Thorough Bread and Pastry and they were delicious.

The DJ played real vinyls and the music was really good.

We dressed in colors of the rainbow.

You Say It's Your Birthday

 

 

Happy Birthday mom!

Birthday Photo Stream

For my mom's birthday party I selected photos from her first fifty years and strung them up on the lanai with miniature binder clips. We used gold wire with the number 50, but twine would look good too.

My mom helped contribute to Title IX. My grandmother took her to court so she could play on an all boys baseball team in Marin. She was the clean up batter and would knock the ball out of the park.

Here we are at my first birthday. She baked and decorated cakes for every occasion.

The last time my mom's family got together in Hawaii was for my Auntie Io's wedding on Maui. She was a bridesmaid, I was the flower girl, and my brother was the ring bearer. See me sneaking up on her on the left? On the right we are at the top of Haleakala crater.

When I was a baby, my mom founded and coached the High School girl's soccer team in the town I grew up in. By the time I was in high school, she had retired from coaching, but she still came to every game. Here she is coaching with me in her arms.

The photos were a hit and they created nice decoration. Jeffery and I are hoping to recreate this project for the wedding. The collection of photos continues!

Happy Father's Day!

I am so lucky to have the father I do.

I obviously love my daddy.

He is very resourceful.

Reading.

Strong man.

The whole family on Maui for my auntie Io's wedding.

Thank you for continuing to be a great dad. 

Thank you for your passion for soccer and music and breakfast with the Beatles and omelets and waffles and dancing with mom. Thank you for setting such a good example. 

Thank you for taking me to Yosemite and Disneyland and Alaska and Arizona and Scotland. I admire your sense of adventure and free spirit. 

Thank you for providing such a beautiful home to grow up in. I admire your enthusiasm and intelligence and playfulness. 

Thank you for sacrificing so much and moving to Hawaii to start your own business. I admire your selflessness and determination. 

And thanks for letting me keep Batman. 

Mom Date

Yesterday I got to spend a good portion of the day with my mom, just the two of us, which is beyond rare. I think it's been years since we've spent any time alone together.

We went to an antique store in downtown Hilo to get plates and tea cups for the wedding. She's been slowly collecting them so we'll have enough come January.

They had pretty things.

And then we went next door to "Puff City" and got cream puffs.

Mmmm. This one had lilikoi filling and icing, so it was nice and tart.

I'm wearing a silk painted blouse my mom made before I was born. I'm trying to convince her to let me take it home. Because I need it.

Always with a gardenia in her hair. Today is her 50th birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom! I hope I can age as gracefully.

Garden Photos with Mochi

It's a rainy day in Hilo-town. Today more people arrive from the mainland and we start prepping for the festivities. The days are going by fast, it's all a blur of family meals, beach trips and hanging out in the garden with the pets. I'm getting a sense of what it will be like in January for the wedding. Hopefully we'll see more sunshine then. Have a wonderful weekend!

Laulau Tutorial

My mother's friend and fellow quilter, Roberta, invited us to her home to make laulau for the upcoming birthday party. Jeffery and I went along to learn how to do it for the wedding.

Laulau is a traditional Hawaiian dish typically consisting of salted pork wrapped in taro leaves, then wrapped again in ti leaves and tied together. It is then baked in an underground oven called "imu" or steamed on the stove.

Jeffery with the taro leaves from the store

First, we had to harvest and prep the ti leaves from the garden. The stalk and center core of each leaf  is trimmed away, then they are washed. (We used over 100 ti leaves to make 94 pieces of laulau.)

Taro leaves, pork, and string

My mother trimming the taro leaves

Roberta wrapping the pork in taro...

...and ti leaves...

...and tying it with string.

They're still cooking. I'll let you know how they turn out.

Around the House

It's the calm before the storm. Tonight my mother's family start arriving, and pretty sure we'll have 12 people (plus pets!) staying under one roof. The birthday bash is this Saturday. Stay tuned!

South Point

Yesterday we drove through downpour and pygmy forest that is Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and up and over 4,000 ft elevation to South Point, the southernmost point in the U.S.

There's a sheer, 35-foot cliff and a rusty ladder to climb back up. 

So, of course, we jumped. 

The water was warm, the sun was hot on our backs and there were dolphins. 

My camera ran out of batteries, but I was able to snap an instagram of the South Point wind farms on our way back.

(Note: the handsome blonde gentleman is my childhood best friend, Devin who has been WWOOFing [willing worker on organic farm] for my parents for the past three months. )